President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), Mr. Lasantha Wickremasinghe recently underscored the importance for accountants to stay ahead with continuing technological advancements, to help the profession and its professionals stay relevant with changing times.

Speaking at the 30th International CA Students’ Conference held in Colombo, Mr. Wickremasinghe, who was the chief guest noted that the world, along with all professions were faced with continuing challenges, alongside continuing technological advancements.

“There is no doubt that technology has impacted the accounting profession, along with every other profession. While automation is completely transforming the global workforce it is also driving the accountancy profession in to the future,” he said.

Mr. Wickremasinghe also noted that the world revolves around technology so much today, that without technology, the world could come to an abrupt halt. “Just as air, water and electricity are an important components in our day to day lives, technology too has become a necessity in the world today,” he told aspiring chartered accountants from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Mr. Wickremasinghe pointed out that accountants have always been progressive professionals, who have to keep up to date with the latest standards, trends and changes, and they have never been stagnant, and never can be. “Today, even though auditing continues to be an inherently human process, modern technology has helped this important area, the same way we have adopted modern technology to our basic accounting tools and methodologies, which has helped enhance our standing as gatekeepers of this important profession,” he said.

But, he noted that while rapid technological changes have its positive aspects, sometimes there are the cons to such advances, especially when it comes to keeping up with such changes at a quickening pace.

“Hence whether we are accountants or non-accountants, there is an increasing importance of continuing to update our knowledge on the latest methodologies that is available for our professions specifically, if we are to remain relevant,” he said.

He also commended the CA Students Society for organisaing the conference on the theme ‘Fruition of Cybernation – Accountancy in the Technology Era’ as it helps enhance the knowledge of future chartered accountants on the technological aspects that is important for accountants.

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